28 pages, We analyse gender differences in the response of smallholder farmers to droughts, taking the duration and severity of the even t into account. Using a novel weather shock measure that combines spatial rainfall data with detailed cropping calendars, survey data from Uganda and standard econometric techniques, we find that adverse weather events provide an opportunity for women to enter the commercial crop market by allocating land from subsistence to income generating crops. This counterintuitive pattern is, in part, explained by the greater propensity of men to allocate time to non-agricultural activities in the event of weather shocks.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 124 Document Number: D11199
Notes:
Online from ProPublica website. 4 pages., "ProPublica has rounded up some of the best reporting on California's severe drought, from fallowed farms to 'zombie' water projects" Article features nine examples.